Mileage-period-indicating odometer



Dec. 23, F. G. WHITTINGTON MILEAGE PERIOD INDICATING-ODOMETER Filed Aug. s1, 1922 z-sheets-sneet 1 mmm@ Irl-HEMI El Y Dec. 23, l924 n 1,520,216

F. G. WHITTINGTON MILEAGE"PERIoDMiNDIcATING oDoMETEn Filed Aug. 51, 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 5v I Z e j' di PatentedfDec. 23', l

UNITED STAT-ss Fannnnix e. WH'ITTINGTON, or EvANsToN, ILLINOIS, Assrenoit l.'10- STEWART- v'Par'EN' WARNER vSPEEDOMETIER, CORPORATION, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,I Av CORPORATION or vmGrNm.

'MILEAGEPEnIon-NMCTING operieren.

i Application led August 31, 1922. Serial No. 585,421.5,y

To all inkom z't'mag/ concern.'

`Be it known that I, FREDERIK G. WHIT- TINGTON, a citizen of the United States," residing in Evanston," in the county of Cook Vvidean improved and simplified construction for causing the dial train'of an odometer'to'operat'e an indicating device for giving notice to the driver of the vehicle upon which the odometer is carried, of the expiration of various periods, for .attention to be given tothe dierent parts and functions ofthe vehicle, as for volling or Vrenewing the various parts of the mechanism. It consists in the elements and features ofconstruction shown and described as indicated inthe claims. In thedrawingszlFigure 1`is a face viewofan odometer equipped with mechanism embodying this invention. f

Figure 2 is a similar face view with .the face plate partly broken away to disclose the period indicating Velements of the mechanism.

Figure 3 is a side or `lower edge elevation ofv the same with the case partly broken away yto disclose lthe mechanism.

Figure 4 is a section at the line 1 -4 on Figure 3. l

Figure 5 Figure gi. u

In the structure shown in the drawings, the odometer is represented as vcomprising the customary trip train and ltotal mileage train, the trip train dials being indicated at B, B1v andB?, the total mileage dial trains at A1, A2, A3, A? and A5.' a3 denotes the carrying pinionA from the hundreds dial wheel to the thousands dial wheel ofthe total mileage train, ,which4 therefore makes 'one step of rotation, that is communicates one digital step to thedial wheel whichit drives, foreach 100 miles travel.` Meshing with the continuous toothed zone of this kis vaI section at the line `5'-57 on pinion thereisa spur gear, C, lcarried on a short shaft, e, which is journaled in an auxiliary gear supporting frame, `M, hereinafter morepartieularly described-and which 'has at its left hand end a ruiter-gear pinion,

D," meshing with al miter gear pinion, E,

the latter being fixed on a shaft, e, journaled inthe same auxiliary frame, M, vand carrying yat its upper o rforwardv end..abo' ve theupper or forward `end of the upper orY forward bar,`M1, of said frame, M,gfthe,initial period-indicating disk and gear, F, -Journaled upon said frame bar, M1, in the vplane of 'said disk, F, are succeeding.k indicating dsksand' gears, and all lof said disks, F, G and H, being ina plane substantially i parallel with and immediately behind lthe dial plate, P,"of-t he odometer. Said diskl gears, F, G and H, are vof the mutilated and;

delay segment type adaptedto communicate motion -Yfrom eachto the succeeding one, by steps only, as the gear tooth of each, passing lthe delay 'surfaceof .the engaged gear, arrivesat a toothrecess withwhich it en gages for communicating the step movementy throughout the are of intersection of the pitch lines of the two gears, leaving the driven gear at rest while the driving gear continues its rotationthroughout the arc of its own delay surface.` By rmeans of this type of gear it will beI4 seen that any `-desired reductionofspeed may -be madefrom'each gear to the lnext in the series, :without"employing vintermediate speed-changing gears or two vgearsonthe sameshaft Withar different numbe of teeth. The importance of this'expedient for, thepresent purpose is that it makes it possible with` `the minimum numberofparts, to construct==theseries of disks havingy successively reduced speed,y so

that theyall stand in the same zoneor plane immediately'behind the 'sight openings of the face plate 4 and also that .it avoids having the disks move gradually pa'stfthe sight yopenings, and causes, instead, `tha-t they stand at rest-in the intervals between their consecutive step movements and perform those movements each fin the [time -voccuped by a single digitalmovelnent of the odometer train, which 'accordmg .to the usual construction ofl odolneters -is 'made during f bof a mile of travel. 4

The disks, F5, G and 'H,.have each anannular area subdivided into equal sectoral units corresponding to thellstep movements of each disk; andthe face platehas -corresponding sectoral sight openings, j', g, and

athrough which the markingson the` indieating-disks, F, G and H, may be read. As

indicated, the initial indicator disk,F, bein driven by.v the lgear connection describe with the pinion, a3, whose step movements corresponding to the digital step of the odometer train' at'each hundredth mile, fthe disk, F ymakes a` step movement at every hundre th mile. The gear, C, has live times as many teeth as the pinion, a3, andthe miter ears, D and E, are equal, so thatthe disk, makes its revolution in fiveste each corresponding to 100 milestravel. ts

.surface which is exposed at the sight-openis* vsections successively ingand giving the desired sienaL The disk f VGf, is toothed reiaave'iy'to die disk, r, for

making one revolution in eachl two revolu-y tions of the disk, F, its step movement being 36 ineXtent and its revolution being made in ten 100? mile steps,'makin a full revolutioiiin each 1000 miles trave Its surface is divided'into ten sectors, and ,it is utilized 4-for signaling expiration of 200 mile periods,

alternate sectors being ltherefore distinctively marked as hereinafter described. The third disk, H, is' toothed relatively to the disk, G, for making the same ineiglit steps of 45. This disk is utilized for signaling the expiration of 2000emile and 400G-mile periods; and it has therefore two diametrically 'opposite sectors distinctively markedfor reading as they come around to the sight openiii la The-preferre marking for the various signals, that is for distinguishing'the dill-'erent sectors of the different disks as they suc cessi-vely'appe'ar at the sight openings is by color; that'is the'sectors tobe read are distinctively colored.y In order that each mileage at which a warning is to be given may haveits own distinctive coloring, to the end that the appearance of a'certain color marking shall always inform the driver of a certain duty,-of attention to a particular function` or part of the mechan1sm,-and

that the concurrent expiration of two Vdiffer- Ventattentionl periods asl a 200' miley period and a `1000 mile period, or a 2000 mile period and a 4000 mile period shall give him both color signals at the same place,-that is by the appearance'of the same marked sector through the 'same opening, the following schemelof color marking isadopted:

In view of the fact that the several .mileage periods at which warnings `are `to be given aref200'miles, 500 miles, 1000-miles,

2000 miles and 4.000` miles, live colors are appropriated, preferably white, black, red, green iand yellow, each of which is at all readme The drivers key chart will inform him that.

the color, .white, invariably indicates a certain attention to be given at 200 mile in- CII tervals'; and that the color, bl'ack,.indi` cates a certain other attentionto be given at y1000 mile intervals. When the fifth sector appears the driverreads, white and .,blac k and is thereby informed of both duties,

'Ihe third. disk making its revolution in eight steps of 5 00 miles each, isl appropriated'to indicating 2000 mile land 4000.

mile intervals, and ktherefore has two diametrically opposite 45 sectors colored,-one of them red only, the'key chartinfoiining the driver' that red indicatesa duty to be performed at 2000 mile intervals.; the other,

colored half redl and half green, the key chart "informing the driver that green indicates a duty to be performed at 4000 mile intervals.v Whenever this `twocolor ,.red and green,-sector appears, the driver i's ii iformed of both dutiesto be performed at once,

The firstdisk, F, making its revolution in five steps of 100 miles each, is'devoted to givingl the 500 mile signals and for that purpoe as one sector of 72 colored,yellow on'y'.` f v l. In combination with an odometer a mileage period indicating device comprisinga series rof indicating disks mounted for step-by-step rotation parallelto the face plate of the odometer, said face plate having sight' openings for disclosing aliquot parts of annular areas of the disks respectively, and means for 'imparting step-bystep rotation to said disks from the odometer train... v 2. In the construction defined in claim 1 foregoing, said means comprising an operating train in which said disks are successively connectedfor said step-by-step rotation and gear means for actuating the initial disk of the series fromftlie odometer dial train ,whereby said initial disk has step-byfstep rotation in steps corresponding to the digital steps of a selected one of the odometer dials.

3. In the construction defined in claim 1 foregoin speed changing gear'connections from dis lto disk of Ysaid period indicating series comprisin 4a mutilated gear with relay segments a apted for transmitting roforegoing, the disks havin ,madam tation to each gear from the preceding one of the series in 'steps only; wherebyjhe duration ofeach step movement of all of the disks is the duration of that of the initial movement, and each step movement of the final disk is coincident with a Vstep move-l ment of all preceding disks.

.4 In the construction defined in claim 1 "'r'egoing, the disks having sectoral areas cireumferentially distributed for registering with the sight openings at the limit of the ste movements of the disk, said areas being istinguished from each other by different surface markingsv on them respectively. y

' 5. In the construction defined in claim l sectoral areas circumferentially distribute for registering with the sight openings at the limit of the step movements of the disks, certain of said n a plurality of colors employed at certain sec- -tors singly,-that is so that only 'one color appears -at each exposed area, and comprisf. ing also the several colors in different combinations by twos,-that is so that two colors appear at the exposed area; whereby the number of distinguishable color markingsl is the total of the number Aof colors employed plus thenumber ofl their possible different combination-s by twos.

7. In the construction defined inV claim 1v I foregoing, the gear connection. from disk to gears, whereby the step movements of #all l the disks, however variant and angular in extent, are each completed infa' single con-v tinuous impulse which is coincident with and ,as long as-a digital step of the initial dial of the odometer train.

.diskbeing by mutilated and delay segment 8. In the construction defined in claim 1` foregoing, the gear connection for actuating the initial'diskbeing made Vby* a gear element of the odometer train lwhoseV step movements are made at 100 mile intervals, whereby f the minimum duration of. expo sure of any disk marking is throughout 100 miles of travel.

9. In the construction defined in claim 1` foregoing, the disks having sectoral varf-:11's crcumflerentially. vdistributed for registering with the sight openingsat the limi-ts of the step. movements of the disks respectively, said areas beingv distinguished from each other by different color markings of their surfaces respectively, a separate color being appropriated ifor each mileage period atl which warning is to be given, sectoral areas which in the order of rotation ofthe disks appear atthe concurrent expiration of two ldifferent mileage periods bearing. the two colors appropriated for such periods ref. spectively.

In testimon whereof I have hereunto set my hand at hicago, Illinois, this 28 day of/August, 1922.

'FREDERIK e; wHrrrINeToN. n 

